Elul: Forty Days of the Yemei Ratzon

AI summary (may contain mistakes)

What makes Rosh Chodesh Elul special? Rashi, in Parashas Ki Sisa and Parashas Eikev, sets out the order of events. After the Chet HaEgel and the breaking of the luchos on Shiva Asar B'Tammuz, Moshe Rabbeinu spent forty days of anger davening for Klal Yisrael. Rashi calls those forty days until Yom Kippur yemei ratzon, days when Hashem shows His will and gives a second chance.

Key points

• Elul is not a time of fearful days but of ratzon, Hashem's goodwill toward us.
• A teaching brought here rearranges ratzon into tzinor, a pipe that carries shefa down from Above.
• Yom Kippur falls on the tenth of Tishrei, forty days after Rosh Chodesh Elul.

Topics

• Elul
• Yemei Ratzon
• Luchos Shniyos
• Yom Kippur